That I will give you the rain of your land in his due season, the first rain and the latter rain, that thou mayest gather in thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil.
The first rain, and the latter rain. The early rain commenced in autumn - i:e., chiefly during the months of September and October; while the latter rain fell in the spring of the year - i:e., during the months of March and April. It is true that occasional showers fell all the winter; but at the autumnal and vernal seasons they were more frequent, copious, and important; because the early rain was necessary, after a hot and protracted summer, to prepare the soil for receiving the seed; and the latter rain, which shortly preceded the harvest, was, though not excessively copious, of the greatest use in invigorating the languishing powers of vegetation (Jeremiah 3:3; Jeremiah 5:24; Joel 11:23; Amos 4:7; James 5:7).